I’m struggling with overly confident players. Obviously, killing a PC is one way to make them think twice about the next time they pick a fight, but I don’t want to resort to that if I don’t have to. Is there a long term status condition or something I can subject them to that’s good at making players averse to picking fights, even when they think they can win?
PF just isn’t built to discourage fights. Resources are easily replenished, wounds are easily cured, and consumables can patch any time limits you put in place. I’d recommend trying out some different systems with more punishing combat and more robust tools for players to avoid fights.